Yamaha XJ550

I now have a rolling chassis with the engine in & I am starting to try & figure out the rats nest of wiring that has to be done to try & make it all look tidy.
Been cutting out all the excess wires that I won't require. It has come to halt this week as I am sorting out the Suzuki T20 racer that I will hopefully be racing this weekend at East Fortune.

Here is how it is at the moment...




Cheers
Col.

Looking really sorted mate, I like's what I see's.

you went to the effort of powdercoating your hubs mate, I was wondering why you didnt go the same way with your frame fella?

Cheers IED,

I didn't powder coat the frame just in case I had to weld anything else onto the bike once I had it built & running. Easier to touch up the paint on the frame than the powder coat. The hubs I definately knew I wasn't going to be doing anything else to them once they were ready for lacing into the rim so thats why they were powder coated.
I can always powder coat the frame once I am happy with the way the bike rides & positive I won't be changing anything.
Paint is cheaper too.

Nice one.

Is the paint you used quite tuff mate?

Can't give you an honest answer on that question as I haven't tested it out as yet.
It does however have a simialr finish to PJ1 that I have used many times before & that is tough stuff. The Simoniz is an acrylic based paint if that makes any differnce?????

Let you know once I have the bike roadworthy & used it.

Cheers
Col.

Well it better do the job cause I just bought 12 cans of the black from fleabay!!!!!

That will be more than enough to do the frame & anything else you may want shiney black.
Hope you bought some primer aswell???

I didn't have a succesful weekend racing the Suzuki T20 unfortunately aswell as the crappie weather, it poured down from 8.00am, the bike popped a piston on the second practice session ending my weekends racing. Fast wee bike though & was feeling comfortable on it despite the conditions. Always next year I guess.

A bit more success came with the wiring of my XJ today as I now have it turning over on the button & have the lights working. Just need to get myself a horn & that will be something else ticked of the list.

Cheers
Col.

Well I now have a running XJ550 cafe racer of a sorts...
Fired up the other night without to much drama & sounds really sweet with the modified Motad. Better than it ever would have before I reckon..
Also got my orange spring back for the rear shock so that is all in now aswell as front brake hose, lever etc, gear linkage lengthened to suit rearsets & all the electrics working including horn & brake light.
I need now to bleed the front brake, paint the bodywork & hook up the rear brake once the pedal comes back from the welders.



Cheers
Col.

Looking good Col.

Just got back from a week working in Milwaukee, very busy but managed to slot in a visit to the HD factory, my God but it's agricultural! Having said that, virtually every bike on the streets is a Harley and some of the ones outside the night club next to our hotel were amazing, never seen so much chrome or so many humungeous rear wheels.

Unfortunately I'd left my camera in my room (not something you'd take to a club!) and my phone doesn't have a flash so I didn't get any decent piccies, but the noise when the barstewards left at 3am was awesome!

Oy oy.....
Less of the agricultural........... I have a Harley.

Shame you got no pics though.

I have in fact got a VRSCR Streetrod - it will cruise all day at 110mph,
if I had a neck brace on, and a topend of 140mph.

But the frame, talk about agricultural, more building site scaff bar.........

I did consider caff racing it after I pranged it in a big way but it would
have cost too much



But I ended up with

I only found out on visiting that HD was started by 2 guys in a converted barn, probably explains the agricultural feel of the factory, NOT the bikes! Your Streetrod is a nice looking piece of kit, although are you SURE you don't want to cafe it having seen that white beauty.

Totally off topic to Col's XJ550 (sorry Col) I had a conversation a few years back with the guy responsible for dragging Ducati out of the doldrums in the late '80s. He said he had to admire HD for their marketing, they made a machine that didn't go, didn't stop and didn't handle, and charged you a fortune for it, then marketed the replacement bits to make it go, stop and handle and charged another fortune for them, and that he said, is true marketing !

Yep. Too true.
Apparently the average HD owner spends another £3000 on making their bike work!!!!

Cheers Paul..

Agricultural!!????
They are a bit tractorish though... Come on..

I do like Buells all the same.

Oh! Front brake bled tonight with a real good lever feel to it so I knwo I can stop now, pilot jets sorted & it ticks over braw with a resposive throttle from tickover. Tried the clutch & it's engaging gears easily a pulling away now to.

Col.

colbb66 wrote:

Cheers Paul..

Agricultural!!????

Yep, the factory is all green lathes and sparks! Seriously, I felt I was in a 1970's machine shop rather than a high-tech, precision workshop where they turn out multi-thousand dollar machinery.

Anyway's up enough on HD, sounds like your build is coming on a pace. Just scored a brand new Motad race system for the 750 off E-bay for sweetie money so looking forward to getting that installed :-)

Nice one Paul.

Quite a bit done today with the priming & first colour on the tank & top coat of black on the tail unit.
Cut the hole in my front number board for the headlight & mounted it all. Painted the rearsets a satin black.

Hoping to have the top coat of black on the tank tomorrow & the pinstripe of orange to match the front number board to compliment the hubs.



Cheers
Col.

Today I got the top coat colour on the tank & seat aswell as the pinstriping to the tank.


Once I had the stripe fitted I had to fit the lot onto the bike.. Minus the mudguard though..



I need to fit the Yamaha tuning fork logo to the tank then have it laquered in two pack to make it more hard wearing & resilient to the fuel spills if any.
A few jobs still to do once the bodywork is away to be laquered.

Cheers
Col.

That looks awesome mate, number bored on the front not very airo-dynamic and I think will act like a little wind break, but hey, It looks the tits and thats all that matters.

A very well done matey

Thanks IED,

your working hard on that CX of yours, good work .

yeh, mixed opinions on the number board that I have fitted to the front of the XJ with the light poking through. No more or less areodynamic than a BIG headlight I would imagine. Certainly different & thats what I wanted.

Cheers
Col.

Different rules Col, a good man once said "Some men see things as they are and say, "Why" I dream of things that never was and say "Why not"

Bike now ready for a MOT.. Should have it done on Tuesday night I hope now that I have my rear brake all sorted & working.
Thought I would put the XJ on the scales to see how much weight I've managed to lose of the little heffer.
From what I have found on the net the original bike weighed a masive 204 kg/449.7lbs Weighing my now anorexic XJ550 with basic bathroom scales initially under the front wheel then the rear I had a weight of 81.5/79.5kg front/rear giving me 161kg with oil & a round a gallon of fuel in it... 43kg lossed???? Wow!!
Now that should help the power to weight ratio I would think...

I thought of making a list of the parts used..

Honda NS125 handlebars (35mm)
Yamaha SR125 front hub
Yamaha XT550 rear hub
Double butted stainless spokes(Central Wheel Components)
Yamaha LC250/350 shock
Kawasaki GPX600 rear sets
Vespa T5 rear brake cable
Aprilia RS125 front disc
Yamaha Exup front caliper
Yamah Exup brake master cylinder(may change this)
Chinese supermoto wheel rims 2.5 front/3.00 rear(Ebay purchase @ £100 pair for the complete wheels)
Yamaha FZR400 seat (extended to suit)
Kawasaki 5 position steering damper
4 1/2 inch chrome headlight
Cateye large rear light
Sava Racer H rated tyres 100/80x17 front, 130/70x17 rear.
520 chain conversion using XT550 sprockets.

Cheers
Col.

Looking pretty Col, I understand your thoughts on the number board, that's what makes cafes so good, no rules, like 'fighters, but without the plethora of GSXRs. Mind you, there's a thought....Oh behave Paul, one project at a time!

So Col, did it pass, are you using it, where's the piccies??

Hi Paul,
yeh it has an MOT & has insurance.. Been quiet as I am waiitn gon the V5 to return form the DVLA.. 5/12 weeks now & well peeved that it hasn't arrived yet.
If I knew it was going to take this long I would've sent for it when I bought the bike.. I didnt think there woul dbe a problem..

Live & learn I guess.
My own fault for bashing on with the bike & not worrying about the paperwork..

Will let you know once I have recieved it. Was hoping to have it this week so I can ride it to East Fortune... Could well still happen but I doubt it..

Cheers
Col.

that is one cool bike

Finally after 8 weeks of phone calls & hassling of the dvla I now have a tax disc for the XJ.
Had it's maiden voyage last night upto East Fortune race track which went ok & pleased on how it handles. Already thinking of a few changes as I thin k the master cylinder needs changed & it is running a tad hot. I'l be chucking in some bigger main jets to try & sort that out. It does rev easily & gets along at a reasonable rate of knots
Had a good response from folk at East Fortune today when i was up watching the racing although the bike seems not to be chargign the battery????? Bump starting only now which is a bit of a pain.
All small teething problems I guess which I'll sort out in due course.

Cheers
Col.